Australian health insurer, nib Holdings Limited, has acquired the New Zealand health insurance business of Tower Limited for NZ$102 million.
The transaction was announced on the Australian Securities Exchange today, with nib managing director Mark Fitzgibbon saying it was in line with the company's strategy of growing its international earnings.
At the same time, Tower Group managing director Rob Flannagan said Tower Medical Insurance had followed a strategic review of the group's business announced earlier in the year.
"We have carefully assessed our involvement in and outlook for each of the insurance markets in which Tower operates," he said. "We do not consider that we will be able to achieve the necessary scale or return in this business in the immediate future and therefore have made the strategic decision to sell Tower Medical Insurance."
The announcement to the ASX said Tower Medical is New Zealand's second-largest health insurer.
